John de Lavis

John de Lavis comes from the UK, although he has studied and lived in the US for 25 years before recently returning back to the UK, where he now lives in the Cotswolds. He is a citizen of both the US and the UK.

From a professional perspective, he worked at HSBC for a number of years ultimately filling senior executive roles for HSBC globally and in the UK. In 1996 he moved across to the US to become the Chief Product Officer for MasterCard International for a number of years before going to Austin, Texas to help found a banking business, NetSpend, that provides banking services for the underbanked. After this business was successfully made public he went to South Dakota to help set up another business, Metapay, a multi-purpose bank. After that he moved back to New York where he co-founded an executive search and consulting business, Greening International, and then de Lavis Partners which is a home for a variety of advisory and investment activities.  Most recently, since he has moved back to the UK John has become involved in setting up a couple of new businesses in data management and digital banking.

John was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, from which he holds a BA (Hons) and MA, in English Language and Literature and Moral Philosophy. He is also a  Sloan Fellow of MIT, from which he also holds an MSc. He has also been a research fellow at Loughborough University and has qualifications from the London School of Business. He has published on retail banking strategies, the impact of IT on organizational design, and systems thinking.

John is married to Alison – now for 37 years, and has two daughters, Frances a civil engineer and Imogen a vet.

He has many interests ranging from European literature and history, through to Philosophy, Economics, cognitive and behaviourial sciences to the History of art and classical music. He is also keen on traveling and walking and as a spectator rugby, soccer and cricket.  He has a number of charitable activities, but is involved principally with the Cambridge University 1209 Society.  He is a member of the RAC Club in London.